Hanoi, Aug 16 (Prensa Latina) The Vietnam Red Cross-led campaign to support Cuba more than tripled its initial goal today, raising more than 219 billion dong (about $8,338,000).
The amount, reached just 72 hours after the initiative’s launch, was reported here by the news website VTV24, part of the Digital Content Production and Development Center (VTV Digital).
The campaign’s initial goal was to raise 65 billion dong (more than $2.47 million), and this goal was doubled the day before, when contributions from more than 598,368 individuals and organizations totaled 125.32 billion dong (about $4.77 million).
Speaking to the press shortly after the results were announced, Cuban Ambassador Rogelio Polanco expressed his deep appreciation for the extraordinary participation of the Vietnamese people in this initiative to support their country.
What we’ve experienced in recent hours cannot be achieved without a deep sense of unity between our peoples, a legacy forged by several generations of leaders led by President Ho Chi Minh and Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro, he emphasized.
Polanco also stated that “this campaign has touched the deepest souls of the Vietnamese people, demonstrating their generosity, altruism, and human courage for a nation thousands of miles away.”
He also noted that, as the organizers of the successful initiative stated, this is also a call for international solidarity. “May peoples unite to clearly, sincerely, and forcefully express the love we feel when a nation is under attack, as the Cuban nation is today,” he said.
On behalf of the Communist Party, the State, the Government, and the people of Cuba, the ambassador also expressed his deepest gratitude to the authorities and people of Vietnam for this new demonstration of profound solidarity and the love that once again fuels the close relationship between the two countries.
The campaign to support the Cuban people, launched here this Wednesday on the occasion of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro’s 99th birthday and in the context of the Vietnam-Cuba Year of Friendship and the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, will run until October 16.
mem/mpm
